PhD Research Project in Pollinator Ecology, Plant Reproduction and Agroecology

Pollinators and pollination services help to safeguard vital biodiversity and ecosystem functions in terrestrial ecosystems and secure yields of crops. However, pollinators face multiple threats, including land-use change and conventional intensive agriculture, which are driving major declines worldwide and jeopardising these ecosystem benefits. Agricultural land-use and management is a major driver of species losses and alters how plant-pollinator communities assemble and behave. Although this might have major consequences for pollination, the evidence on the link between land-use and management, pollinator interactions and genetic health of wild plants remains scant. The PhD project will address this issue by investigating how agricultural management (agro-ecological vs conventional intensive management) changes pollinator diversity and species interactions to impact on pollen flow, reproductive success and genetic structure in wild plant populations.

The project will focus on wild plants (Centaurea species), which are weeds that compete with crops and key parts of declining agrobiodiversity. By integrating agroecology, entomology, plant population genetics and mating system analysis with network and statistical modelling and using field observations and experiments, this project aims to discover the ecological mechanisms by which land management modifies biological interactions underpinning population persistence of wild plants and pollinators in contemporary agricultural landscapes. The PhD student will obtain multidisciplinary training and experience comprising community ecology, taxonomy, population genetics, experimental and survey design, network and statistical modelling, and generic transferable skills.

Further project details here (IN FRENCH): http://www.ecoledoctoralee2s.com/ressources/pages/A_VANBERGEN2_-_AE.pdf

For an informal pre-interview discussion or any questions please email adam.vanbergen@inra.fr

To apply by 17 May 2019 (midnight).

For an informal pre-interview discussion or any questions please email adam.vanbergen@inra.fr